Jason Meets Carrie: A Gimmick Too Far or a Bloody Good Time?
By the time Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood slashed its way into theaters in 1988, the franchise had already become a cinematic ritual. Jason Voorhees, the hulking, silent killer in a hockey mask, was no longer just a character — he was a cultural fixture. And with six films behind it, the series had evolved (or perhaps devolved) into an exercise in creative kills and increasingly outlandish setups.
Part VII attempts to break the mold by injecting a new twist into the blood-spattered formula: what if Jason faced off against a girl with telekinetic powers?
It’s a bold move for a series that had, until now, relied on machetes, horny teens, and an implacable killer in the woods. And while The New Blood deserves credit for trying something new, the execution leaves plenty to be desired.
The Plot: Psychic Girl vs Zombie Jason
Tina Shepard (Lar Park Lincoln) is a troubled teenager with psychic powers who accidentally killed her abusive father years ago in a telekinetic outburst. Now, she returns to the site of the accident — a cabin on the edge of Crystal Lake — for therapy under the manipulative Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser), who’s more interested in exploiting her powers than helping her.
In a moment of grief and guilt, Tina tries to use her powers to bring her father back from the lake. Instead, she resurrects Jason Voorhees — still chained underwater after the events of Part VI. Naturally, Jason wastes no time resuming his reign of terror.
From there, The New Blood plays like a greatest-hits reel. Jason dispatches a house full of teens with a variety of weapons, while Tina slowly realizes she’s the only one with a shot at stopping him.
A Bold Idea That Doesn’t Fully Land
In theory, a Jason vs. Carrie showdown is brilliant horror-kitsch — a chance to elevate the series with something resembling plot and character motivation. And for a franchise largely built on formula, Part VII deserves some respect for trying to shake things up.
But the execution is uneven. Tina’s story is promising, but her trauma, grief, and powers are given only surface-level treatment. The psychic powers — the film’s central gimmick — are wildly inconsistent. Sometimes Tina can shatter a television with a glance; other times, she can barely nudge a door. The climax offers some fun telekinetic throwdowns, but by then, the build-up has already dragged its feet.
Director John Carl Buechler, better known for his work in special effects (Troll, Cellar Dweller), brings a creature-feature sensibility to Jason’s look. The rotting, exposed-spine version of Jason here — played by the formidable Kane Hodder in his first appearance — is one of the most visually satisfying incarnations of the character. But storytelling takes a backseat to gory spectacle.
Characters: Dead Meat with Dialogue
As with most Friday the 13th entries, the supporting cast is cannon fodder — here more than ever. There’s the flirty girl, the jealous one, the sci-fi nerd, the stoner, the jock, and the token “nice guy.” Their personalities are thin, their lines forgettable, and their deaths are, at least, often creative.
The standout, if there is one, is Nick (Kevin Spirtas), Tina’s love interest and the only person who believes in her. He’s a generic good guy, but his chemistry with Tina is stronger than most previous Friday romances.
Dr. Crews, on the other hand, is delightfully despicable. Terry Kiser plays him like a low-rent Freud with a death wish. His cowardice and manipulation make him one of the more memorable human antagonists in the series — and his chainsaw death at Jason’s hands feels earned.
The Kills: Cut by the MPAA, But Still Inventive
This entry is infamous for being gutted by the MPAA. Nearly every kill was trimmed to avoid an X-rating, and what’s left is often the bloodless suggestion of gore, rather than the splatter that fans expected. This is especially frustrating considering Buechler’s background in special effects — it’s likely that much of his best work never made the final cut.
That said, the kills that remain are inventive within the constraints. A party horn through the eye, a sleeping bag slam against a tree (one of Jason’s most iconic kills), a weed whacker to the gut — all are memorable, if a little too quick.
Jason himself, as portrayed by Hodder, brings a new level of menace. Hodder is a bigger, more expressive Jason — his physicality adds weight to each movement, and his head tilts and slow turns communicate more than you’d expect from a guy in a rotting mask.
The Setting: Return to the Lake
After detours into city buses (Part VIII) and body-swapping (Jason Goes to Hell), The New Blood sticks to what works: Crystal Lake. The lake, the woods, and the cabins all play their parts, and the production does a good job establishing atmosphere.
Tina’s house and the neighboring teen party cabin are the primary locations, and their close proximity helps build tension. Jason is never more than a few yards away. The fog-drenched night scenes, the creaky floors, and the slow build-ups to each attack recall the original film’s suspense — at least in spirit.
Tina Shepard: Final Girl with a Twist
Tina may not be the most iconic final girl in horror, but she’s certainly one of the most unique. She’s not a scream queen running from a killer — she’s actively fighting back with mind powers. That alone earns her a place in the slasher canon.
Lar Park Lincoln plays Tina with wide-eyed intensity, though the script doesn’t always give her enough to work with. Her trauma, her sense of guilt, and her slow awakening to her own power are all ripe for exploration, but they’re glossed over to make room for more kills.
Still, the climax — where she finally unleashes her powers on Jason — is a high point. Watching her toss him around with telekinesis, light him on fire, and send a porch roof crashing down on him feels like a long-awaited catharsis.
The Ending: “Really?” Reunions and Resurrections
The final battle is one of the more action-packed climaxes in Friday the 13th history. Tina and Jason battle in the basement, the living room, the yard, and even the lake. At one point, she tears off his mask with her powers, revealing the decaying horror beneath.
Then, in a move that feels both absurd and weirdly touching, Tina resurrects her long-dead father to pull Jason back into the lake.
Yes, you read that right.
It’s a laughable twist, but it fits the soap-opera-meets-slasher tone the movie has leaned into. If you’ve bought the psychic powers, you might as well buy the father-from-the-lake too.
Final Thoughts: Jason’s Growing Pains
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is a strange beast — part supernatural thriller, part slasher, part teen drama. It’s a movie that tries to evolve the franchise without fully escaping its own shackles.
The attempt to give Jason a real adversary in Tina is admirable, but the film never fully commits to developing her as a character. The psychic gimmick is undercooked, and the supporting cast is even thinner than usual. Worse still, the heavily censored kills undercut what could have been the film’s most crowd-pleasing moments.
And yet, for all its flaws, The New Blood is still an entertaining ride. The atmosphere is strong, the pacing is brisk, and Jason has rarely looked better. Kane Hodder’s debut sets a new standard for the character, and the final battle is a satisfying pay-off.
If you’re a fan of the franchise, Part VII is worth revisiting — not for what it accomplishes, but for what it tries to do. It may be a half-baked evolution, but at least it’s not just more of the same.
Final Score: 6/10
A muddled but ambitious entry that gives Jason a worthy opponent — even if the story can’t quite keep up with the body count.
🔪 The Friday the 13th Retrospective Series
A look back at every machete swipe, scream, and sequel in the Friday the 13th franchise:
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Friday the 13th (1980) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-1980-the-one-that-started-it-all/
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Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-2-1981-the-birth-of-jason-the-middle-child-of-the-franchise/
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Friday the 13th Part III (1982) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-iii-1982-mask-on-shirt-off-and-body-count-rising/
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Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-the-final-chapter-1984-the-best-lit-death-march-yet/
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Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-v-a-new-beginning-1985/
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Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-vi-jason-lives-1986/
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Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-vii-the-new-blood-1988/
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Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-part-viii-jason-takes-manhattan-1989/
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Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) – https://pochepictures.com/jason-goes-to-hell-1993-the-body-hopping-butcher-and-the-death-of-a-slasher/
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Jason X (2001) – https://pochepictures.com/jason-x-2001-a-space-odyssey-of-slashes-and-silliness/
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Freddy vs. Jason (2003) – https://pochepictures.com/freddy-vs-jason-2003-when-nightmares-meet-crystal-lake/
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Friday the 13th (2009) – https://pochepictures.com/friday-the-13th-2009-the-brutal-reboot-that-forgot-the-soul/
